Inside Out
by Is That Rhetorical
Summary: Songfic, Inside Out by Yellowcard. Naruto and Sakura begin to pick up the pieces a month after Sasuke's departure. Team 7 friendship, SasuNaru if you use a telescope like a freaky stalker, SasuSaku/NaruSaku if you squint. Rated for safety.


**Holy crap, not an exclusively SasuSaku oneshot/songfic! Who'd a thought?**

**Inspired by ****KagePhoenix****'s AMV on youtube, the greatest team 7 friendship video I have ever seen (/watch?vUYMzcbIm6s&featurerelated (or look up "naruto inside out" and it's the one titled "Naruto Shippuden – Inside Out" with the image of Sasuke in the bushes).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the song, "Inside Out", by Yellowcard.**

**Reviews make me think I'm special and want to write more faster. Just so you know...**

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

Naruto threw a kunai at a stump built just for that purpose. It hit in the center of the target he'd clumsily painted on. "I'm officially healed," he muttered, flexing his fingers. "Now, until Tsunade Obaa-chan lets me go after Sasuke again, I'll pretend it's him."

He chucked another one at the log, but it didn't satisfy him as much as the first time, because now he knew he could do it. Besides that, it would never be the same as finally landing a simple weapon on that arrogant bastard.

_Here, a little sympathy, for you to waste on me._

_I know you're faking it but that's okay._

This time around, he wouldn't let Sasuke get the upper hand right off. He'd finish it quick, even if it really meant bringing him within an inch of death.

_And I don't want to drag it out. _

_Don't want to bring you down. _

_I never wanted it to end this way. _

He couldn't afford to make threats to break bones Sasuke didn't even know he had, to drag him back to the village half dead. Those sorts of things that barely made him pause to throw a response to before wouldn't even phase him now that he'd started training under Orochimaru.

_Even if I wanted to, I don't think that I'd get to you. _

_There's nothing I can say to make you feel alive again. _

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

Sakura felt somewhat disgusted with herself.

She knew she was completely, absolutely, irrevocably in love with Sasuke, but she still found herself looking at other boys a little too closely for her liking. Stupid hormones.

_Here, a little jealousy. _

_I hope you think of me. _

_I hope you wonder where I sleep at night. _

She shouldn't have minded so much. Now that some of the civilian teenage boys had realized Sasuke wasn't coming back, they'd tried to befriend her. Most of them were sincere about it, and just generally kinder than the cold Uchiha prodigy. Ino would have loved the attention after moving on from the now missing ninja. She could use and toss boys like flowers, but Sakura was proud to say that she wanted to be able to have a deeper relationship. If only it wasn't that longing for depth that was tearing her apart.

_Because I feel like I'm inside out. _

_You've got me upside down. _

_Maybe I was holding on too tight._

And that wasn't the only thing that was slowly killing her. That night on the path had seen every kind of horrible subconscious distortion she'd thought possible, and some she hadn't considered. She rarely slept much anymore. His voice would follow her around during the day too, just those seven words. _"After all this time, you're _still_ annoying."_

_Even if I wanted to, I don't think that I'd get to you. _

_There's nothing I can say to make you feel alive again. _

_So don't just say goodbye to me. _

_Just turn your back away and leave. _

_And if you're lucky I will be your last regret, your only friend._

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

She hated to admit it, but just after Sasuke left and the failed retrieval team had been brought to the hospital, she and Naruto had grown miles closer, almost as close as he and Sasuke had been. With Naruto as the liaison between her and Sasuke, that almost made them a team, as they'd told their sensei they already were on their first real day as team 7.

_The two of us, we dream like one, the two of us, the two of us. _

_The two of us take breath like one, the two of us, the two of us. _

_The two of us, we dream like one, the two of us, the two of us. _

_The two of us take breath like one, the two of us, the two of us._

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Those words never sounded so annoying now, although she would always wish they were coming out of Sasuke's mouth.

"Hey, Naruto."

They stood and stared at the logs where they'd become Genin, Sakura on the right, Sasuke on the left, and Naruto tied to the center log.

"I tried to tell him," Naruto suddenly muttered. "I tried to tell him that… it wasn't pointless, our time as Team 7. He… didn't believe me." Naruto looked like he was on the verge of tears… again. Sakura felt herself doing something she'd never imagined possible.

_I guess that this is over now. _

_I guess it's called a falling out. _

_But ever day I'm learning how to make it through this life I'm in. _

_Even if I wanted to, I don't think that I'd get to you. _

_There's nothing I can say to make you feel alive again. _

_So don't just say goodbye to me. _

_Just turn your back away and leave. _

_And if you're lucky I will be your last regret, your only friend._

Giving Naruto as tight a hug as she could muster.


End file.
